By VENUS HONORE-GOPIE Friday, October 9 2009

Chinese national Zhi Shen, who died after he fell from a scaffolding on September 26, while working at the Tranquility Government Primary School, will be cremated in Trinidad and his ashes sent to his family in China, sometime next week, sources told Newsday.

Shen, 50, a labourer with contractor Beijing Liujian Construction Corporation, Trinidad and Tobago Limited, died last Sunday while at the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) at the St. Clair Medical Hospital.

Sources said Shen’s wife and son will be waiting to receive his ashes in China since they could not come to Trinidad. Problems also arose when attempts were made to send the body to China.

His uncle, who came with Shen, according to a release from the contracting firm had been by his bedside throughout his treatment at St Clair, while the contractor remained in contact with his family.

Reports stated Shen was “climbing the scaffolding and had just undone his harness when he slipped and fell. In the process, his helmet somehow detached, leading to head injuries,” at the school located at the corner of Stanmore Avenue and Tragarete Road, Port-of-Spain.

The matter is currently under investigation by the Occupational Safety and Health Authority (OSHA) and the Education Facilites Company Limited (EFCL) who employed the contractor.